Mother's Day = Happy Birthday Mak

Finally, I'm back. Baking and blogging again.

Gosh, I missed this.

I have not been blogging for so long!!!

I have not been baking for sooooo long!!!

I started baking again yesterday, on what was acknowledged by my children as MY DAY, a.k.a Mother's Day. No worries, I know it's an unusual thing to be slogging in the kitchen on mother's day. Mummies are supposed to get time off, but this is what I love doing, so on Mother's day, this mummy did what she likes! Plus, I was baking for my mother who is celebrating her birthday today and who will be going for another round of chemo treatment today, of all days!!! So, it was a quick double batch of RVCs yesterday afternoon for mak.

Zaim helped with the sprinkling! My little elf.

A wee bit blurry, sorry. I managed to make enough for mak and my mother in law.

Happy birthday Mak, I love you loads. No amount of cupcakes or blog updates can repay your love, devotion and sacrifice for me and your grandchildren!!! We love you.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

My 1st attempt was a cake, please click for recipe.

This time cupcakes!

I thing I nailed it this time.

Thanks to Nigella's wonderful recipe in this Simply Divine book.

If you have been thinking about getting this book, go and get it NOW! 

I have tried 3 recipes so far: Apple and Cinnamon Muffins, Chocolate Banana Muffins

and this Red Velvet Cupcakes. 

Simple yet Divine, darling.

for the cupcakes:

250g plain flour (I used superfine)

2 x 15ml tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

100g soft unsalted butter

200g caster sugar

1 x heaped 15ml tablespoon red paste food colouring

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

175 buttermilk (see how to make buttermilk here)

1 teaspoon cider vinegar or other vinegar

2 x 12-bun muffin tins

• Preheat the oven to 170C/gas mark 3 and line the muffin tins with paper cases.
• Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarb in a bowl.
• In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar, beating well, and when you have a soft, pale mixture beat in the food colouring - all of it - and the vanilla.
• Into this vividly coloured mixture, still beating, add 1 spoonful of dried ingredients, then 1 egg, followed by some more dried ingredients, then the other egg, followed by the rest of the dried ingredients.
• Finally, beat in the buttermilk and vinegar and divide this extraordinary batter between the 24 cases (I got more, because I used smaller cups). Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes by which time the redcurrent-sorbet-coloured batter will have morphed into a more sombre, but still juicily tinted sponged - more maroon acryclic than red velvet to be honest. (Nigella's words exactly, I like the way she writes, you can almost here her saying it, just like on TV).
• Leave them to cook on a wire rack and do not ice with the frosting till absolutely cold.

Just look at the intense colour!

The red colour is just so amazing.

Someone sure was attracted to it!

Topped it with Buttery cream-cheese frosting and some sprinkles on top.

for the icing:

500g icing sugar (no need to sift if using a processor)

{I used only 400g because that was all I had, I might even reduce another 50g, 

because it's a tad sweet. It really depends on how you like your sugar.}

125g cream cheese

{I used the whole block of Cream Cheese, only because I thought the recipe said 250g and also I sub-consciously wanted to finish the whole block as I wasn't sure I would use the leftovers soon. But it turned out okay though, nice and creamy.}

125g soft unsalted butter

1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice

chocolate sprinkles and red sugar for decoration(optional)

• Put the icing sugar into a processor and whizz to remove lumps.
• Add the cream cheese and butter and process to mix. Pour in the cider vinegar (or lemon juice) and process again to make a smooth icing.
• Ice each cupcake, using a teaspoon or small spatula.
• Decorate with chocolate sprinkles and red sugar, or as desired. 

Have a try.

Someone's happy.

Red Velvet Cake - tried and tested recipe.

I don't know why during the Hari Raya season, I had the sudden urge to find a Red Velvet Cake recipe. Having tasted it during various open houses albeit all in one day, I had this sudden desire to find a recipe, try and taste my own Red Velvet Cake!

So down the google lane I went checking out for easy to make RVC recipes. Ha!ha! Besides the remarks or feedbacks that are posted by those who have tried the recipes in the recipe forums, my one other important criteria of trying out a recipe is that the ingredients are not that difficult to find and the method is not too complicated. So I found one that I was happy with (by reading the recipe that is...) and walla...

My 1st RVC.

The feedback from my mother (my most honest and sincere food critic)... two thumbs up! I was over the moon. If that was not enough, because I was not too happy with the cake, cause I thought it had some bitter spots, so I took a quarter of a slice to work, to be shared and commented by my buddies at work. They loved it too, yes there were some bitter spots, not sure where that came from. Was it the colouring or the baking soda, I'm not sure, anybody out there know why? Do drop me a line if you do.

Anyhow, here's the recipe that I got from the internet. Fudged as suggested by those who tried and commented in the recipe site, cannot remember which one probably from allrecipes.com.

Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients:

1. 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2. 2 ounces red food coloring

3. 1 cup milk***

4. 1 teaspoon white vinegar/lemon juice

5. 1 teaspoon salt

6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

7. 2 cups white sugar

8. 2 eggs

9. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

10. 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

11. 1 cup of vegetable oil


Directions


1. For cupcakes, bake at 325 for 25 min.

2. Grease two 9 inch round pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring. Set aside.

3. Combine the buttermilk*** - salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the oil and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the cocoa mixture. Beat in the buttermilk mixture alternately with the flour, mixing just until incorporated. Stir together baking soda and vinegar, then gently fold into the cake batter.

4. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting. Refrigerate until ready to serve.



*** the recipe actually calls for buttermilk - here's what needs to be done in the absence of buttermilk

What you need:

• Milk (just under one cup)

• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Place a Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.
2. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.
3. Let stand for five minute. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

Cream Cheese Frosting II


Ingredients (US)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 8 ounces cream cheese

• 4 cups confectioners' sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 tsp orange rind

Ingredients (metric)

• 115 g butter, softened

• 225 g cream cheese

• 480 g confectioners' sugar

• 10 ml vanilla extract

• 1 tsp orange rind

Directions

1. Beat softened butter and cream cheese until well blended.

2. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy.

# note: I would actually cut down the sugar a little the next time I use this recipe.

A piece of cake - literally! :-)

So if you are giving this recipe a try and if you managed to tweak it successfully, do let me know yah!